A Houseful of Thanksgiving
by christibabe
Summary: This is a one-shot sequel to The Face That Lies. It's takes place 15 years after the original and tells what happened to several characters. Hope you enjoy.


**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. Kallie and Raven are my own creation and I claim credit for them.**

_Spoiler: There might be a possible reference to any of the 1-18 books._

_**This story is a Thanksgiving one-shot that takes place 15 years after The Face That Lies**_

_Special thanks to Vanessa Loor and to Jenn from BCRU._

A Houseful of Thanksgiving

Stephanie's POV:

I pulled the Cayenne up to the house and looked over to where Kallie sat in the passenger seat. I smiled at her and asked, "You ready to do this?"

Kallie grinned, "Definitely. I'm surprised everyone agreed to this."

I grinned, "They knew better than to not agree."

We climbed out of the Cayenne and made our way to the house. As we walked into the house the past came rushing back. I saw the house once again as it had been shortly after Kallie had finished remodeling it. The past fifteen years had made an impact on the house as well. There had been a number of families that had stayed here over the years, plus the guys had all vacationed here at one point or another. There had even been a wedding or two that had been played out. Kallie and I set our bags on the counter in the kitchen and worked together at getting the stuff put away. Once we had finished our task I leaned back against the counter and turned to look out the window.

"It really looks beautiful out there."

Kallie grinned, "Yeah. Who would have guessed Hector would get together with a gardener."

I laughed, "Certainly not Hector. Do you remember the look on his face the first time he saw the guy?"

"Priceless!"

I nodded. _Ranger and I had come to the house because I had another stalker and this was the one place where Ranger knew I would be safe. He had arranged for Hector to come with us as an added guarantee. We had arrived at the house in the middle of the night so we weren't aware that Ella had arranged for a gardener to start working that next morning. We were acquainted with that fact though the next morning at 6 a.m. when the machine the man was using woke us up. I managed to make it to the window to see Hector leave the house with guns drawn and he pointed one of those guns at the gardener. Hector wasn't all that tall, barely 5'10" tall and he was slimmer than the rest of the guys. However that in no way meant that Hector was weak. There was a lot of muscle packed in his frame. The gardener stood 6'4" tall and was built like the rest of the Merry Men. He didn't even flinch when Hector walked up to him with his gun aimed at him._

_Instead, the man folded his arms across his chest and glared as Hector neared him. I didn't understand what Hector was saying because it was in Spanish. The other man responded in Spanish as well. "_Quien eres y que estas haciendo aqui?_" (Who are you and what are you doing here?)_

_The other guy narrowed his eyes at Hector and responded, "_Pense que seria obvio pequeño pero obviamente cuando repartieron la inteligencia decidiste que no te hacia falta y saltaste esa linea." _(I would think that was obvious short stuff but obviously when they was passing out smarts you decided you didn't need none and skipped that line.)_

_Hector's suddenly looked frightening. I turned to Ranger and he kissed me before going down to mediate between Hector and the gardener. I watched as Hector took a threatening step forward but the other guy didn't even look concerned. I could see Hector's eyes were narrowed slits but I wasn't able to hear what he added. Then I noticed Ranger walking over to the two men. I watched what looked like a heated discussion between Hector and the gardener with Ranger seeming to act as referee._

_As I watched I noticed the big guy taking a few steps closer to Hector and Hector had taken a few steps closer as well. Suddenly Ranger moved between them and even from here I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't happy. I looked back at the room and saw my discarded jeans and t-shirt draped over a chair. I slipped into them and went down to see if I could help diffuse the situation. By the time I reach the three men, Ranger's body was the only thing stopping the two from killing each other. I sauntered over and smiled up at the big guy. _

_I sent him a little finger wave and introduced myself, "Hi. I'm Stephanie Plum and you are?"_

_The big guy gave me a once over before nodding and replying, "Names James Connelly. I was hired by Ella to get the garden going here. She mentioned you to me. It's a pleasure to meet you."_

_Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ranger's shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Hector looked mad enough to spit nails. He muttered something in Spanish I had no clue what it meant but apparently Mr. Connelly did because he glared and showed Hector his middle finger with a hand gesture any Italian would be proud of. I could only shake my head. _

"_Mr. Connelly, what do you have planned for this area?"_

_The big guy turned to me and smiled. His whole face lit up and I could see out of the corner of my eye that Hector stilled. James Connelly winked at me and said, "Call me J.C."_

_I laughed, "Okay J.C., will you show me what you have planned?"_

"_It would be an honor."_

_J.C. guided me on a tour of the area. I was aware of Hector standing with his arms crossed and muttering under his breath in Spanish the whole time. Ranger was standing beside Hector laughing silently. When J.C. led me back to where Ranger and Hector were standing I noticed he seemed to tense up and glare at Hector. My eyes widened, I couldn't believe anyone would glare at Hector without fear of reprisals but his guy didn't seem to be concerned. _

_That day set the norm for the days to follow. Hector watched J.C. as if he were a serial killer and J.C. treated Hector as if he were a pesky bug that needed swatting away. Ranger and I had our quiet moments and then we had the moments where we had to avert danger and act as a buffer between the two men. Then there was the day everything changed between the two men._

_Ranger and I had a very…intimate night of lovemaking. I woke up to find Ranger was already up and gone but there was a note telling me there was a box of Boston Creams in the kitchen. I smiled and headed to the shower where I proceeded to get ready for the day. Once I had dressed I made my way downstairs to the kitchen where I enjoyed both Boston Creams and a cup of coffee. I had just finished rinsing my cup out and rinsing off my sticky fingers and mouth when I heard the argument. I dried my hands off and headed out the back door to see what was going on. I went around the corner of the house to see J.C. and Hector standing toe to toe and J.C. had his hands on his hips leaning down to Hector with narrowed eyes and a fierce looking face that had me hesitating before moving forward. Hector's hands were at his side in a deceptively relaxed stance that I knew could change in the blink of an eye._

_I took a deep breath and headed towards the two men. I was just about there when I heard a hissing. I looked down and screamed at the same second the snake struck. I felt the hit against my leg and the next minute I was falling. As I fell I saw a knife come sailing through the air and slice the snake's head clean off. The next second I was being lifted and carried to one of the SUV's. I was vaguely aware of J.C. using a knife to cut my pant leg as Hector drove us to what I had to assume would be the nearest medical facility. I knew the closest thing would be a good 30 minutes but somehow we made the trip in less than 15. I'm not sure what all J.C. did to my leg, I just knew it hurt. As we drove I was aware that Hector was talking to someone but I wasn't able to catch the words as my head was starting to swim._

_Once we got to the clinic things happened rather quickly. Once the doctor had finished treating me I was pushed out in a wheelchair to the waiting area. To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly. Not only was Ranger there but so were Tank, Bobby, Lester, Cal, Woody, Ram, Hal, Manny, Binkie, and Vince. Ranger came over and knelt down beside me. He cradled the side of my face with his hand and said, "Babe."_

_I smiled weakly and said, "What can I say?"_

_He shook his head and hugged me to him. When he stood Hector and J.C. were there with the rest of the guys. I noticed all the Merry Men giving J.C. the once over. When Ranger introduced him as the guy that was planning the garden there were a few smirks. Bobby came over to make sure the doctor had done a good enough job and when he asked what happened I told him. _

_Vince shook his head and looked to Hector. "Not many people can slice the head off a snake throwing a knife. Oh, throwing it from that distance and hitting it in that spot are no problem but in order to slice the head off you need an enormous force behind the throw. Nice work."_

_Hector shook his head and pointed to J.C. The guys all looked at J.C. in a different way. J.C. ignored the guys and came over to where I was and knelt down. He looked into my eyes and said, "Has no one ever told you girlie, you need to be more aware of your surroundings. You could have died from that snake bite."_

_I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Who told you to say that?"_

_J.C. grinned, "It was what my C.O. used to drum into our heads."_

_My eyes widened, "So what branch were you in?"_

_J.C. grinned and leaned forward to whisper, "I was a member of Seal Team 6."_

_Ranger lifted an eyebrow, "You're that J.C.?"_

_J.C. nodded. "We never had the opportunity to work together, but you were legendary sir."_

_Ranger shook his head, "I can say the same for you. Some of the stunts you pulled."_

_It didn't take long for the guys to warm up to J.C. over the next several weeks. Once he had the garden all planted and looking great, Ranger offered him a job at Rangeman. After long consideration J.C. agreed but it wasn't in the capacity Ranger had wanted to hire him for. J.C. agreed to be the caretaker for the house and garden. Since my stalker had been caught Ranger and I were planning to head back to Rangeman and while packing up, I noticed the way Hector was looking at the newest Rangeman hire. I suggested to Ranger that since there was a caretaker on premises, we also might want someone to monitor the security of the house. He agreed until I suggested Hector. _

_Ranger chuckled and said, "Babe, they'll kill each other."_

_I shook my head, "I don't think so."_

_Reluctantly he agreed to have Hector monitor the house. Several months later we had our first Thanksgiving at the house. The guys and Ranger were totally surprised when J.C. and Hector were visibly a couple. When I saw their reactions I couldn't help laughing as I commented, "Gee guys, hasn't anyone ever told you that you need to be more aware of your surroundings?"_

That first Thanksgiving 14 years ago was definitely one to remember. That year had started a tradition we continued to this day. Our group had gotten progressively larger. Not everything was roses and sunshine though. We had lost members as well. Tears burned as I fought to stop them from falling as I remembered Alicin. _I smiled as Woody placed the baby in my arms and introduced us all to his new daughter. She was so beautiful. He was the proudest daddy. When he told me what her name was I was touched deeply. Woody had married 14 years ago and within a year his daughter was born. She brightened all our lives in the short time she was with us. But I guess God saw what a wonderful child she was and decided he needed her beauty and light to light up the heavens because three short years after she came to us she was taken away. We all mourned for that little girl, but none so hard as her daddy. Alicin Stephanie McCallister was laid to rest the second week of November 10 years ago. Her daddy had never gotten over her loss but he had managed to continue on. He and his wife had nearly lost each other in their grief, but had managed to find their way back together. Five years ago when Tricia gave birth to Justin Wade McCallister their journey had come full circle. Justin's parents loved him every bit as much as they loved his older sister. Learning from experience, they never took a moment of his life for granted. _

Kallie placed a hand on my arm and I turned to her. I smiled weakly and assured her, "I'm okay."

Kallie looked as if she had tears in her eyes as well as she nodded, "I know. She was the sweetest little girl I ever met. So full of life."

I nodded. "That she was. Woody and Tricia seem happy again finally."

Kallie's eyes grew unfocused for a moment and then she smiled. "They have some news for us."

As hard on Woody and Tricia as Alicin's death was, it was even harder on Kallie. She'd seen the child's passing before she was even born. Not wanting to spoil the time Woody and Tricia would have with the child, she'd kept her knowledge to herself, only telling Raven. I reached out a squeezed her hand. Kallie smiled, "They will be very happy."

We were silent for several seconds and then I thought about Hal. From Kallie's silent shaking I guessed she was thinking the same thing. _Hal had been called up for a special assignment 13 years ago; a mission that would take him out of our lives for nearly two years. I worried and prayed every day. I was grateful Ranger had contacts that could get us word that Hal was safe from time to time. When we got word that Hal was coming home I was so relieved and excited to finally see him again. His flight came in on time and we were anxiously waiting for Rafael to return from the airport with Hal when a call came in from Rafael, telling us that someone had kidnapped Hal. Ranger sent the guys into motion and for the next three days they searched everywhere for Hal. I was desperate for news and had tried to contact Kallie but she was on a trip with Raven and wasn't near a phone. On the fourth day after he should have come back, Hal drove up in front of the Rangeman building with a passenger. When they had entered the building and word went round Hal was back and unhurt, I lost no time in making my way down the stairs to welcome him home. He had a woman with him in handcuffs and she looked scared. I couldn't really blame her since Ranger and several of the guys were surrounding her. _

_I put my hands on my hips and asked, "What's going on here?"_

_Hal grinned and pulled me into a hug. I saw the sick look on the woman's face beside him. I smiled and held out my hand, "Hi. I'm Stephanie Plum. I'm a friend of Hal's. Who are you?"_

_She grimaced down at her handcuffed hands and mumbled, "I'm Cara. I grew up with Hal a long time ago and just wanted to talk to him. I had no idea all this would happen."_

_I turned to Hal and frowned, "Surely you can undo the cuffs."_

"_I don't know Steph. I had to wear them for three days."_

_Cal piped up with, "You mean in three days you couldn't get out of a pair of handcuffs. You getting soft in your old age?"_

_Cara sighed, "It's kind of hard to get out of cuffs if the key was broken off in the keyhole."_

_The guys gave Hal a hard time and he took their ribbing good-naturedly. I slipped over to Les and whispered in his ear. He gave me a strange look and I nodded. Les shrugged and stepped up to Cara. "I can help you out of those cuffs in exchange for a date Lovely Lady."_

_Suddenly from out of nowhere Hal's fist shot out and connected with Lester to send him sprawling. Les looked up at Hal and asked, "What gives man?"_

_Hal glared at Les and said, "You don't hit on a friend's fiancée."_

_Lester's eye widened, "You never said."_

_Hal blushed, "Well, I haven't exactly asked her yet, but…"_

_Cara burst into tears and started sobbing, "I thought you were going to hate me forever. I just couldn't stand you going away again and never seeing you again."_

_Hal took Cara in his arms and comforted her. "I've learned a lot in the past two years. I know when I left things were up in the air but I was on my way back to you. I love you Cara. Will you be wife?"_

_Tears streamed down Cara's face, "You better mean it Hal because I'm never letting you go. Yes!"_

_I stood there smiling as they got reacquainted with each other. They married a few weeks later. Although they both dearly wanted children, it wasn't to be. They grieved for the children they couldn't have and then moved on with their lives and were extremely happy just with the two of them._

I looked around and was getting ready to turn the oven on to pre-heat when the door opened and Ella walked into the kitchen. She smiled as she saw the two of us and we got busy putting things together for dinner. As I worked at putting the ingredients into the dishes, I thought back to Kallie and Raven's wedding 10 years ago. _Kallie was a beautiful bride and she looked positively radiant on her wedding day. Everyone was stunned to see Raven taking that step and saying vows. He looked at Kallie with such a look of love it was obvious they were made for each other. Once they were married, they took a three month honeymoon. Once they returned Kallie let me in on the fact she was pregnant. Over the past 10 years she had given birth to three children. Two boys and a little girl. Dante was 9, Brent was 7 and Nicole was 3. Although all of their children were healthy, happy and well adjusted; each had Kallie's abilities in varying degrees. Kallie did her best to help the children deal with their own unique abilities. _

I finished cutting up the fresh fruit and turned to see what else I could help Ella with. I smiled as I watched her showing Kallie how to place the seasoning she had mixed inside the turkey so it would be evenly seasoned. The years had been kind to Ella and Louis. She had taken Kallie and I both under her wing and taught us so much. My thoughts wandered back in time to that moment when Ranger and I had discussed whether or not we would continue on as we were or if we should get married. _I was freaking out at the thought of marriage. I had overcome all my fears about truly being with someone in a committed relationship. I was so happy with Ranger and knew there would never be anyone else for me. Although we both were happy with the status quo, we wondered if we were shortchanging ourselves by not getting married and having children. Ella had come upon me having a panic attack. She put her arms around me and asked why I was in such a state._

_I told her it all, everything I was feeling and thinking. She put her finger under my chin and lifted my face till I was looking her in the eyes and then she said, "Stephanie, Ranger knows how much you love him and I can see you know how much he loves you. Are you happy?"_

_I nodded, "Yes."_

"_Would you be any happier with a ring on your finger?"_

_I shook my head. "No. When Ranger and I are together I could never be happier than I am at that moment."_

"_Then don't let anyone talk you into something you don't need child. This is your life, yours and Ranger's. Don't let anyone else live it for you."_

_I wrapped my arms around her and that's how Ranger found us. Ella excused herself and Ranger joined me. We talked and learned we both felt the same. We agreed to shelve talk of marriage since it wasn't something either of us were interested in. I let him know I wasn't opposed to having children; I was just terrified of not being a good mother. Ranger let me know he was okay with having children. He also let me know if they didn't happen he wouldn't be any less happy with his life with me. _

_Ella had become a mother to Kallie and she and Louis acted as Grandparents to Kallie and Raven's children. It was heartwarming to see Ella shine when she had her babies around her. It wasn't just Kallie and Raven's children either. It was all the Merry Men's children she played the part for, and she did it with all her heart._

My thoughts were interrupted when Ella handed me the bags of bread that needed breaking up into a bowl to make the stuffing. I grinned and got started on breaking the bread up. As I did my mind wandered to the changes in Lula's life. Those changes affected Tank as well. _I remembered watching Lula being loaded onto the stretcher and the EMT's lifting her into the waiting ambulance. They had just shut the doors when the Cayenne screeched to the curb and Ranger and Tank exited on the run. Ranger hauled me to him and I broke down sobbing, not knowing if my friend would make it through. Tank looked like death warmed over. He stopped the EMT from closing the door. The man looked at Tank and shook his head. I thought Tank was going to argue but he suddenly pulled himself up to his full height and nodded once. He looked the EMT's in the eyes and told them they better not let her die. In the next instant he turned and raced back to the Cayenne. Ranger and I hurried over and I climbed in between them, just getting settled before Ranger put the Cayenne in gear and rocketed towards St. Francis. _

_Ranger pulled up to the emergency room doors and let Tank out. He turned to me and said, "Take care of him till I can get in there."_

_I nodded and got out to follow Tank. I was shaky as I made my way into the emergency waiting area. Tank wasn't hard to find as there were 5 big orderlies trying to keep him from going into the triage area and not having any luck stopping him. I walked over and another orderly came over and grabbed me, startling me so I screamed. Before I could do anything else, Tank had turned and proceeded to disengage the orderly from me, causing the orderly a bit of pain. The other orderlies were trying to contain Tank and not having any luck. _

_Finally, I half yelled, "Stop! If you would just let me talk to him I can handle this."_

_Did they listen to me? Not in the least. Another one went to grab my arm and Tank grabbed the man's throat, "Hands off her."_

_I placed my hand on Tank's arm and said, "Tank, it's okay. They think they're protecting me. Let's sit down. Ranger will be in and then we can find out about Lula."_

_Tank crumpled, sitting hard on the chair behind him. "I can't lose her Little Girl."_

_I stepped in front of him and put my arms around him. "I'm scared too. She's my friend."_

_We clung to each other. Ranger joined us a few seconds later. He put a hand on Tank's shoulder and squeezed. "She's holding her own man. They took her to the O.R. We can go to the surgical waiting room and the doctor will come talk to us when he finishes."_

_Tank nodded. He stood and Ranger and I stood on either side of him as we made our way to the surgical waiting room. Once we were there, Ranger sat beside me and quietly asked, "What happened Babe?"_

_I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself. "We went to pick up a skip, Charlie Mortsy. Everything was going fine and then Mortsy's brother got in the middle of everything and he pulled a gun on us to help his brother get away. When Charlie told him he didn't want to get away from us, the brother got real mad and started waving the gun around saying we poisoned his brother. The three of us were inching away when suddenly he pointed the gun and Lula went down."_

_Tank's fists clenched, "Where is the guy?"_

_I put my hand on Tank's arm, "Eddie took them both down to the police station."_

_Tank turned and the look in his eyes gave me pause as he said, "I hope the mother fucker goes FTA."_

_We sat there for hours, waiting for word. It was nearly three hours later when the doctor entered the waiting room. "Are you the family of Lula…"_

_Tank stood and took a step towards the doctor. The doctor paled but remained standing. I put my hand in Tank's and asked the doctor, "How is she?"_

_The doctor hesitated, "She's holding her own right now. She'll be in ICU overnight. If she makes it through the night then her chances are good. The bullet did some damage and there was already scar tissue."_

_Tank turned and pulled me into fierce hold. His head rested on my shoulders and his shoulders shook with sobs. I held him as my tears joined his. I felt Ranger's presence behind me and I turned tear filled eyes to him. I reached out my hand and he took my hand in his as he laid his other hand on the back of my head. When we were finally able to go in to see Lula, the nurse agreed to let us all three go in. We stayed with her through the night. We talked and laughed about all the skips Lula and I had gone after in the past and the situations we had gotten ourselves into. The charge nurse tried to kick us out once but we had barely made it to the waiting room when she came running after us and asking us to go back. Apparently Lula's heart rate went through the roof when we were made to leave. _

_Lula made it through the night and she was moved to a regular room on the surgical floor. She spent another three days in the hospital before she was released. Tank took her to his house even though Lula claimed she was allergic to cats. Seemed Lula wasn't really allergic to cats. She had gotten scared and drummed up any excuse to explain her change of heart. Once she moved in with Tank she never left. When she was ready to go back to work, I pulled up to take her into the office. I knocked on the door and Tank let me in. We had a long discussion and the end product was Lula agreed to working on her gun skills and take down abilities. Of course, I was guilted into it as well. Over the years Lula and I had gotten very proficient at our jobs. Lula and Tank thought much like Ranger and I did. We didn't need a ring and piece of paper to tell us our relationship was real. _

I looked down to see I had the bread all broken into the bowl and added the ingredients Ella had set out for me. Once I had all the ingredients together and mixed well, I put them into the stuffing pan and added the cut pieces of turkey breast Ella had prepared the day before. Then I added the turkey stock and set the pan in the oven. I turned to the sink and washed my hands. As I dried them I noticed a group of the guys outside playing a game of football. I watched as Cal tackled Binkie and took him to the ground. I smiled remembering when they first admitted to having feelings for each other. _Binkie had been working with Erik for about three weeks when Erik had made a rookie mistake and almost gotten Binkie killed in a routine check of a warehouse Rangeman did security for. Cal had been on monitor duty and was witness to the whole scene. When the guys got back to Rangeman, Binkie went to see Bobby and Erik was corralled by Cal who had just gotten off monitor duty. Cal called Erik to the mats and proceeded to hand him his ass. When he was done, Cal had leaned over and told him if he ever did anything like that again, he wouldn't stop with a lesson. Just as they were finishing up, Binkie walked into the gym and wanted to know what was going on. Cal mumbled something about teaching lessons and headed to his apartment on 4. Erik shook his head and told Binkie he shouldn't worry about whether Cal was into him or not because the answer was a resounding yes. _

_When Binkie went to leave, Tank was heading in. Binkie took one look at him and asked him if he was okay. Tank nodded. Binkie continued out of the gym and headed towards the stairs. I was waiting at the elevator. Binkie hooked a thumb over his shoulder and asked me, "He really okay?"_

_I nodded, "I think he needs to expand some energy. Lula was shot a few days ago and he's been in the hospital with her ever since."_

_Binkie paused and looked back towards the gym. He seemed to come to a decision and made for the stairs. I learned later that he had gone to Cal's apartment and told him outright how he felt about him. Cal in turn admitted his feelings for Binkie. They decided that rather than deny their feelings they were going to accept how they felt and make the most of a life together. They even went so far as to make a weekend trip to Atlantic City and got married. We had a big party for them when they returned. Although that meant they would not be allowed to work together, both guys were okay with that as they had partners they trusted to watch their backs. Cal partnered Manny and Binkie was partnered with Vince. The four guys often spent their time off together. Which is how Manny came to meet Binkie's little sister Jasmine. _

_Their relationship developed slowly over the next five years with both of them dating others and just being friends at the start. Manny seemed to date less and less and usually only when Jasmine brought a date. Then Jasmine's boyfriend at the time dumped her for her best friend and so it was a double whammy for her. She came to talk with Binkie but he and Cal had taken a trip to visit Cal's family on the west coast. When Manny found out she was here he begged off a night out with the guys and invited Jasmine to his apartment. One thing led to another and Jasmine never left. When Binkie came back he was worried this was a rebound relationship and had a heart to heart with his sister. Jasmine admitted that she wasn't as broken up about the ending of the relationship as she was the fact that he had cheated with her best friend and it was the friend's actions that were the heart of the matter. She admitted to the fact that she had been in love with Manny for some time._

_It was another two years before Manny purposed. Taking a page out of her brother's book, Jasmine suggested they go to Atlantic City and Manny agreed. Binkie gave me a heads up so we could have a party ready when they returned. Three months after they married, Jasmine learned she was pregnant. She gave birth to a little boy followed by a second son three years later. Jasmine was due to have her third child any day. She and Manny were thrilled to be having another boy._

_During one of the groups many outings, Vince had met another friend of Jasmine's. It was a whirlwind relationship and three months after meeting they were living together. Within a year they were married and now they had two little daughters, 3 year old Sarah and 2 year old Tasha. They were a happy couple._

I put the towel down after drying my hands and looked around to see almost everything was in the oven cooking or in bowls in the fridge. I took the cool whip out so it would be able to thaw to use on the pies. As I set it on the table I once again went to the past. _I remembered the day Lester had stopped by my cubicle and asked me for advice. He had met a really nice girl but wasn't sure he'd be able to make a relationship work. He was a natural flirt and had never thought about a long-term relationship with just one woman. I told him he was the only one that would be able to answer that. We talked for a long time. Lester brought Melanie and introduced her. She was a wonderful woman and surprised all of us. We all thought Lester would choose someone young, fun, and athletic. Melanie was young and loads of fun. She fit the athletic as well in a limited way. Melanie was blind. Over the next several months we saw a different Lester. He was still a flirt and fun-loving, but there was a grown up side to him as well. He and Melanie had managed to make their relationship work and three years ago had finally married. _

_Bobby was Lester's best man at the wedding and that's where he ran into the love of his life. Someone from his past that he had never been able to forget. Celine was a cousin of Ranger and Lester's that Bobby had met a long time ago. She was a young woman of 20 and thinking he was too jaded for her he refused to speak of his feelings so she would be able to have the life he wanted for her. Funny thing planning people's lives for them. Celine, having met and fallen in love with Bobby decided no one else would do for her so she dedicated her life to teaching. When the two ran into each other at the wedding Bobby admitted what an idiot he had been and Celine moved right in with him. They married 3 days after Lester and Melanie did. _

I came back to the present and looked at the table. We had everything ready to go. Now all we had to do was wait for it to cook. Ella hugged Kallie and I and said, "The men and their families are all here. Why don't you go join them?"

Kallie and I nodded and headed outside to join the others. They were all there. My gaze caught Ram and his wife Jillian as he helped her out of their SUV with their newborn son Chase. _I remembered the first time he'd met her. He went with me to a client meeting and she was the executive we were meeting. One look and they were goners. Of course it took them 2 years to admit what they were feeling to each other, fooling themselves in the meantime that it was just friends with benefits. Fortunately for them Chase pushed the envelope by making an appearance and forcing them to deal with what they were feeling when they learned he was on the way. They married three weeks ago and had no more than said their I dos when Jillian started having contractions._

Kallie squeezed my hand and I smiled at her. She grinned back at me and said, "Shall we go find our men?"

I nodded, "Let's."

We headed towards where the group was standing around talking and playing a game of football. Ranger and Raven turned in our direction and we joined them. Ranger wrapped his arm around my waist and Raven wrapped his arm around Kallie's waist. I looked up at Ranger and smiled. "It's nice to have all my family here."

Ranger leaned down and kissed me before whispering, "Don't look now but your parents and Grandma just got here."

I watched as Binkie and Cal went to help my Mom and Grandma from the car. I smiled as Grandma's hand moved and before anyone could blink she had pinched Binkie on the ass and moved her dentures around in her mouth as she said, "Stick with me sonny and we'll have us some fun. You're pretty hot, hope you can keep up with me."

My Mom turned and rolled her eyes, "Mother!"

Grandma cackled and they headed into the house where I knew Ella would keep them entertained till lunch. My Dad looked around before taking a seat on the porch. Within minutes, most of the children were clambering onto seats beside him. They treated my dad as a much loved Grandfather.

Raven shook his head, "Some things never change."

By the time Ella called everyone for dinner, I was starving. We all headed inside and to the tables. One table was set up buffet style and we moved through a line filling our plates. Once we were seated we said grace and started eating. After eating we headed into the great hall which had been transformed so we could sit and watch the football game. Ranger sat on one love seat with me beside him. I snuggled close to him and looked around at all my family. I smiled as I watched my family. Ranger leaned down and asked, "Are you happy?"

I tilted my head up to him and replied, "Happier than I've ever been. I love you Ranger."

Ranger kissed me and the then spoke softly, "I love you Babe. More than ever."

I was thankful for so much. Most of all, I was thankful Connie had asked Ranger to meet me in that diner all those years ago and I was even more thankful Ranger had agreed to meet with me. I was thankful for every minute Ranger and I had spent together over the past 15 years. I never knew my heart could feel so much. I looked over at Raven and Kallie and saw the look they shared as well. They were so much in love. My gaze went to everyone else in turn and I smiled as I looked back at Ranger. My life was full just as it was. I needed nothing else to feel complete.

_Here's hoping all of you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. For those of you on the East Coast I hope you are soon able to pick up your lives and move on from the destruction of Sandy if you haven't already. I am thankful to all of you for the warmth and generosity you have shown me in your acceptance of my stories. Thank you all. For those of you who review as guests, I want you to know I greatly appreciate what you say and I regret not being able to respond to you personally. I am now working on my 17__th__ chapter of my original story and am hoping to have it done soon. In December there will be a story for Christmas. Until then…(or if I complete the original story sooner), take care of yourselves. Happy Thanksgiving!_

_Christi_


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